IPOB : Shadows of Biafra reignites restructuring debate at launch

Nigerian and Biafran soldiers in war gears, brandishing guns on the battlefield. But instead of exchanging fire, they shared food, drinks and cigarettes. Impossible? The scenario is unbelievable, but true of the 1967-70 civil war as recounted by war hero and grand patron of Ohanaeze Lagos Chief Guy Ikokwu, who represented Ohanaeze Ndigbo President-General, Chief Nnia Nwodo, at the presentation of “Shadows of Biafra” by Uchenna Nwankwo.
His words, inspired by Nwankwo’s new book, touched on civil war and ignited talks on restructuring, true federalism, resource control and killer-herdsmen, Boko Haram and more.
The event, chaired by Chief Olu Falae, who was represented by the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP presidential aspirant Dr Uma Eleazu, held at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA).
“We, in Biafra, worked very hard to contain the Nigerian invasion as much as possible,” he began. “Before the Addis Ababa conference, the Biafran forces tried to hold their ground, and at the underground Ojukwu Military Bunker, about a dozen of us, including my humble self as head of the War Information Bureau in charge of motivating our Commando Units, expressed our collective reservation about the continuance of the war as we were very short of arms and food for our soldiers and militia.
“In fact, on many warfronts, Nigerian and Biafran forces had some beneficial ceasefire and exchanged food and drinks and peaceful rest. We, therefore, agreed to draft our terms for the end of the war! A committee supplied the draft, which was on our ideological theme ‘’On Aburi We Stand’’ , which was for true federalism as Nigerians interpreted it as a call for confederacy or loose federation of the component entities of the new Nigeria. All of us in the Bunker signed the document with our blood from our fingers!”
The war hero, who is also the Grand Patron of Ohanaeze Lagos, said: “The new Biafra mantra is one of the minds of ideology and not of a territory within the Nigerian space.” He lamented that from 1970 to 2018, “Nigeria has not recovered its democratic norms and the governance system had deteriorated to a unitary despotic system, wasting nearly 50 years of our common heritage”.
“It is also up to all Nigerians to live up to such expectations in the interest of the black race and posterity, hence the present consistent alarm for the restructuring of our polity for justice, equity, fair play and egalitarianism collectively.
“Today’s political formation must be a collective effort, a coalition of parties, a collection of those with similar national ideology and manifesto, with a younger generation moving the country forward in this digital age of our world! …On Aburi We Stand – which was for True Federalism – as Nigerians interpreted it as a call for confederacy or loose federation of the component entities of the new Nigeria. All of us in the Bunker signed the document with our blood from our fingers!” he said.
He was not alone in the call for restructuring. Afenifere chieftain Chief Supo Shonibare added his voice to the call, observing that restructuring “is the template that allows for collective leadership”.
He said: “My take is that it is useful for us to pay attention to the issue that was initially an agitation for restructuring, and it is very apt at this stage of the Nigerian structure for us to realise that there is no nation in the world with different ethnicities that operates the kind of unitary system that we operate.
“It is the solution to the issues of tribalism and marginalisation.The only sensible reaction that Nigerians should have is that we restructure our country and devolve powers to the various ethnic zones, so that we can be a truly federal system and the issue of not allowing that to add to civil war should be something we should remind ourselves so that we don’t go that path again.”